Willow looked down, into the cold abyss Marco was in. 2 days have passed since Baby visited her, and she was growing concerned. Her suspicions about Marco not being human cannot be nor proven nor proclaimed false, his aura is too confusing for her to decipher! It says that he's 36, which he couldn't be, that only a part of him is a monster and the rest is human, and that he can control Mewman magic! Just what is this child?!

However, none of that really concerned her as much as the time he spent in the water. A human should be able to spend a day at most in her veil of magic, but this is his fourth day in. The water can't drown him and freeze him, it can't do him no harm under her control. She put him in the water to heal, to gain independence and to be able to learn and create magic. So, which of these three is the problem?

Ah, she doesn't have time to think about this! Who knows how much time is left before Star Butterfly transforms for the second time! In a split second, she was on her feet, ready to dive in to get Marco out, when...

The slightest breeze grazed her face, moving the branches of the willow tree above her with a not yet seen grace. The branches in the Freezing Marshes started to move in a steady rhythm-the rhythm of a Spanish guitar.
"He is ready." She muttered in relief as the smooth surface of the lake distorted into a whirlpool.

The currents of the lake moved in a perfect spiral, the murky colors following suit, creating an enchanting swirl in the bitter cold. Soon, a body began to rise up from the depths of that swirl. His pale blue skin is a stark contrast to his bright red hoodie, whose edges are decorated with the sharp flowers of frost. Willow silently watched as he hovered just above the water while the whirlpool disappeared, before gliding to him slowly.
"Awake from your slumber, Marco Diaz. Time to face life once more."

His eyes opened wide, those dark chocolate orbs of his now decorated with a tinge of red. He looked around, getting used to the bright light, before focusing on Willow.
"Willow?" He asked in a cold, raspy voice.
"Yes?"
"How much time did I spend down there?"
"Almost 4 days, Marco."
"I see. What now?" He stood up, facing Willow with a distant look on his face.
"Now? Now we talk."
And she walked away, across the now frozen water to her home. Marco silently followed, what else could he do?

Marco's mind was now a blank slate. He didn't feel anything. Not the pain, not the emotion, not the cold. He felt as a viewer in a theater when he remembered everything up to this point. It just didn't feel real anymore. He didn't know if it frightened or relieved him, but it was definitely something new. He felt blood course through his veins, each muscle in his legs as they stretched to carry him to his destination, heard each sound in the marsh that was once quiet for him. He felt, heard, saw everything around him, but not his thoughts. His heart beat steadily, his breathing soon synchronizing with it, but he couldn't think about it, only feel it happening.

He didn't fail to notice Willow's movements either. Such smooth, fluid motion, yet filled with little disruptions here and there. She felt surreal, as her dress swayed, but her hair stayed still.
"Marco, you have finally been freed from all the thoughts running through your body. All of that pain is frozen, for now."
Willow said as her feet stepped on solid ground, near her home. Marco followed, but didn't reply to her statement. He knew it was true, his head and body felt empty, yet complete. Not a piece was missing.

"How do you feel, Marco?"
"Feel...I don't...Feel anything right now."
"Good, good. That means the process is complete." She nodded her head, then sat down on the cold grass below. Marco followed her actions in an almost robotic fashion, feeling as if he is a stiff puppet. Willow didn't waste a second more, and soon started explaining:

"What you just went through is a ceremony in the witch world, called the Freezing Marshes Bondage Ceremony, or FMBC for short. You have made contact with the original source of ice magic, the place where it was first created, 15 000 years ago. Only creatures who have practiced magic beforehand can survive its touch, and I had no doubt you did just that in Mewni. However, even if you do survive the contact, the Marshes will not accept you as its user unless you show it your core magic. If it is pleased, you will be able to find this place and fill up on magic with ease. If it doesn't accept you, you will never feel warmth again. Clear?"

Marco, as if he didn't hear her entire explanation, asked:
"Why did you bring me here? Why give me the chance to learn magic? Why, when you have nothing to gain from it?"

She sighed through her nose, and looked at him with an annoyed expression:
"Balrog brought you to me. You were a crippled child. I already told you, a witch on Mewni is different from Earth, I won't turn you into a rat. Secondly, you will need that magic in the future, if you want to leave this place. And finally, I have much to gain from it, mainly keeping my head on my shoulders. Your little blonde friend is powerful enough to match Solaria, and even...Eclipsa. Good people, in the hands of evil ones, do bad things."

This time, he curtly nodded and followed her movements once more. She wasn't clear to him, but something in his head told him that he must follow her now, so the thought got shoved into the back of his mind. Willow moved to her home, the temple without walls, velvet curtains draped over every opening of the ancient structure. The dome shaped roof was held up by dark brown logs, each one equal in size and without a fault on their bumpy barks. The dome itself was made of a dark gray stone, as well as the floor and the stairs leading to it. The surprising thing is, Marco couldn't see a line, a crack, or anything that would indicate that more stones than one were used in the building of this thing. The temple seemed so unreal.

In the temple, the atmosphere was completely different. Once he entered the building, he was swarmed by warm and stuffy air, as if the heavy velvet curtains were walls of the place, keeping it warm. In fact, he remembers the wind he felt outside, but it seems the curtains didn't budge, how strange. The inside of the temple was a single giant room, split apart by multiple smaller curtains scattered across the room, making smaller compartments which served as individual rooms.

Willow continued to walk forward, almost in a hurry, as the many curtains moved for her, making a path to the center of the room. This time, Marco hesitated to follow, as something felt off in that direction. A strange feeling overcame him, warning him to stay away, and come closer at the same time. Willow glanced in his direction, a small smile on her face. She stopped, and turned to him slightly, mostly still facing the other direction.
"It's confusing you, isn't it? Your head wants you to stay back, but still move forward. It's alright. What's there might seem dangerous, but it isn't. It's a part of you, the part you need to move forward and save your future. Come on now. We must waste no time."

She explained shortly, trying to come out as sympathetic, but her voice gave away her rush to finish this. Marco couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the more he spent here with her, time seems to pass quicker, and not in a good way. As if she's...Manipulating his surroundings. However, he had to catch up with her, as the curtains behind her slowly closed, and he doubts he could find her once they close. What if she makes a turn?

Once he finally caught up with her by jogging quickly, he found her standing in front of a curtain that wouldn't open for her, one of a dirty white color. He stopped next to her, still feeling the strange feeling in his head increase as the curtain slowly swayed to one side, a strange breeze surrounding him.

"To be honest, I'm quite curious about your reaction to this. Come on, let's see how it goes!" She pushed him to the other side of the room and closed the curtain after she came in,making sure there's no way out of this compartment.

The moment she pushed him in,everything changed. There was nothing in the room apart from a single pale pink rose, laying idly on an old wooden stool. However, this rose was no ordinary rose. It attracted him in ways he could not imagine, as if it whispered the deepest secrets of his mind back to him. This time, he didn't feel his legs move, nor did he hear his blood course trough his veins, he just inched towards the rose. His steps started to turn frantic, his breathing shallow, soon turning into a pant. He broke out into a run, and soon enough, he was grasping the thorny stem of the gentle flower with his fingers, his feeling of panic disappearing shortly. He stood there, eyeing the rose as he turned it around. Then, one of the petals detached, and gently landed on his thumb. Now he knew why this rose attracted him.

His mind exploded with pain as the rose let out a mist out of its petals, the once subtle smell of it overwhelming Marco. A voice, similar to Willow's, but deeper and colder, whispered from the mist:

"Marco Diaz... You are quite a hero, built by many things...One quarter of you belongs to your family..."

The mist formed clouds of memory, memory of his mother and father on Earth, back at home. He remembered all the times they celebrated birthdays together, the time when they went to Yellowstone for the first time, and the time when he first went to school, his fondest memory with them.  However, he could do nothing more than smile as his body stood motionless.-*

"Yes...A happy family... And of course you had good friends,haven't you? Your second quarter, owned by your friends..."

The clouds changed, now they have a purple hue. One cloud showed all of his human friends, Jackie, Janna,Ferguson...And the other showed all the friends he made in Mewni, Tom, Heckapoo and the Resistance. He saw them all talking, laughing, playing with him. He saw Jackie's and his dates, the day Janna stole his super secure wallet, his adventures with Heckapoo, and his ping-pong match with Tom. All memories he was fond of. He suddenly wished that he was suddenly back there with them, back when he didn't have to resist the lonely cold like he has to now.

"They all built you, and together with your own effort, shaped you into the brave hero you are today...Truly worthy of a king..."

Marco nodded slightly, still soaking up all of his memories, as if he's afraid to lose them. Then, the rose disappeared.

"But...There's always a but..." The voice chuckled humorlessly as the room turned dark.

"There's a thorn in your side...A thorn you do not want to remove...To your dismay, it's the one person you will never forget...Your queen."

Giant pillars of bright red smoke filled everything in sight, and then it struck. The shrill, pitched scream of hers rung in his ears like a doomsday bell, making all around him a fuzz.

"She gave you her smile!"

Star's laughter with a slight snort flashed in his eyes, her bright blue eyes looking at him, giving him their special look, the one that only she possessed.

"Her undivided attention!"

It felt as if she was there, talking to him about this and that, cracking jokes and listening intently to every single word. It hurt.

"Her hand!"

His hand itched at the memory of her touch, at the tug she gave when she dragged him to their adventures, the tug that grew gentler over time. It hurt some more.

"Her trust, that you would keep her safe!"

It hurt, oh Moon did it hurt! Memory, after memory, after memory! The screams were no longer in his head, but in his throat, moving the bloody red mist around him with their agony. He fell down to his knees, the hot tears burning his cold, rigid skin. He croaked her name in vain, he couldn't make a sound.

" And yet..She is gone...Taken...Imprisoned."

Suddenly, a memory which was not his popped up in his head. For a second, he couldn't decipher to who it belonged to, but it soon became clear; it was Star's. She was walking through a darkened hallway, but it was different. She was stiff, calm, well-paced. Something was wrong . Then, a flash, and he saw two figures standing in front of her. Once her eyes focused, he saw Tom and a weird creature looming over her. Again, he heard her screams. However, this time, she cried. And he saw red.

"NOOOOO!!!!" With a heavy step, he stood up, and screamed at the mist with a roar of pure anger, his eyes no longer the shade of brown they once were.

"Do you wish to save the one bound to you? Do you wish my power?" The mist spoke clearly and loudly to him, swirling in a vivid pattern.

"GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE! SHE WILL NOT CRY!" A rage he never felt before filled his lungs all of a sudden, devouring his being like a forest fire.

"Why should I? How can I be certain you will even be able to use the magic that I own?" The mist questioned him in an almost excited voice, the swirls growing with every ragged breath he exhaled.

" I will not let her suffer! I will not let her be bullied! I will not let her spirit die! If I you have to eat my soul for it, go ahead! If you want to curse me for all eternity, by all means! Hurry it up so I can save her!" He breathed out, a new emotion filling his head: anger.

The mist stayed quiet for a minute, circling him, testing out his words. Marco didn't budge nor blink, just held his fists clenched against his body.

" Very well. The power of a thousand winters, northern winds, frozen mountain peaks and ice eternal! Enter this needy being, replenish a soul scorned, clear the clouded mind and break the chains of humanity! May he succeed in righteous justice, carry your burden easily, save what he treasures most, and carry the mark of the Wizard of Cold!"

The winds blew in with a formidable force, picking him up in the air as if he's a dry leaf. They carried him out quickly, shutting the heavy velvet blinds with a heavy thud. Willow stood up on her feet, and looked around the now wrecked inside of her temple.

"This was...Interesting. Now, where did that rose go?"

She murmured to herself as the compartments set back in place, putting all of the items back in their rightful places.

"Ah, there she is! Wait...What the-?!" Her jaw dropped when the rose finally appeared in her place. Willow took a step forward, her eyes wide at the sight. What once was a pale pink rose was now a blood red, fully bloomed rose, with no thorns in sight.

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Sorry it took so long! I am graduating this year so I have a lot of work to do! I finally finished this one, thank Mewni!

Anyways, keep an eye out for the next update! Bye!

Ocean Fury